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Travel to NuFact 06

Visas

Colleagues who require visas to visit the United States are reminded to submit their paperwork to the nearest US embassy or consulate as soon as possible. The workload of these offices, and the time required to process routine applications, has increased due to heightened security concerns.

The State Department's website has full information about the Visa Waiver Program and a list of the countries currently participating.

If you require a letter of invitation, please send your request by email to minimize delays, and include the name of your institution, as well as your full name and title.

Air Transportation

Southern California is served by Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and a number of smaller regional airports: Long Beach (LGB), Ontario (ONT) and John Wayne (SNA). LAX is the world’s fifth busiest passenger airport. It is at least one hour by car from the conference site, or more depending on traffic conditions. If possible, we strongly recommend using the less crowded (and much closer) John Wayne/Orange County Airport (SNA), which is five minutes from the meeting site and hotel.

Direct flights to Orange County are available from 23 cities in the United States, including hubs of all major domestic airlines and convenient connection points for international flights from Asia and Europe. These include:

ATL - Atlanta
ORD - Chicago
MSP - Minneapolis
DTW - Detroit
EWR - Newark
DFW - Dallas
PHX - Phoenix
DEN - Denver
SEA - Seattle
HNL - Honolulu
SFO - San Francisco
LAS - Las Vegas
SJC - San Jose

Airport Transportation

The conference hotel operates a free courtesy shuttle to and from John Wayne Airport; a taxi should cost no more than $10, if you prefer not to wait. Car rental is also available.

LAX, as noted, is considerably farther away. A taxi from LAX to the hotel (or UCI) will cost between $75 and $100. If others are travelling with you, however, you can ride together for the same price.

Shared-ride vans are a more economical (around under $50), but less convenient alternative. Look for a shuttle with the destination "Orange County" or "Beach Cities", or ask the dispatcher at curb-side to call one for you. You should have the name and address of your hotel with you to provide for the driver.

You may of course also rent a car at LAX. Directions from LAX to the hotel are available, and not complicated, but be aware that traffic is always horrific during the morning and afternoon commuting periods, and if you are unlucky (accidents, construction) the drive may take close to two hours. If you have one or more passenger's riding with you, you can use the left-most ("High-Occupancy") lanes, which sometimes move faster.

Directions and Maps

Driving directions and maps are available to UC Irvine and to the conference hotel. You may also find the MapQuest website useful for generating printable maps and directions.

Daily Transportation

Free bus transportation will be provided between the conference hotel, UCI Campus Village apartments, and the meeting site for all scheduled ISS Pre-Meeting and NuFact Workshop events. A full American breakfast is served each morning at the conference hotel, and continental breakfast (during NuFact only) and a full lunch are provided at the meeting site. Without a car (or a friend willing to give you a ride), however, your dinner options will be somewhat constrained.

Parking

Free parking is available at the Ayres Inn and Suites (conference hotel), and at the Beckman Center (meeting site). Although the parking at the Beckman Center is free, paid permits ($7/day or $27/week) are required (and aggressively enforced) in most other parking lots on the UC Irvine campus.